Learn how to Bend
by Heroofthe13thDay
Summary: What did Shawn do when he left Santa Barbara? Or more accurately, who did he meet?
1. Prologue

Shawn Spencer was never one to actually take on responsibility. Many people could tell you that without batting an eye. If you asked Gus, his best friend forever until eternity without it being gay, he would laugh and ask why you even doubted it. His father would probably do the same, without the theatrics. And Amy would agree with both, but they all secretly knew that he did care even if he didn't show it all the time.

**1989**

Phil the turtle wasn't eating again. Shawn tried giving him crackers, gummy bears, jelly beans and any other type of food small enough to fit in his aquarium that was in the house. But he refused to eat and looked a bit thin, or at least thinner than when Phil first came from the store.

"Ugh, stupid turtle." He was getting bored. Maybe he could go over to Gus' house and try the new bicycle he got last weekend. Yeah, that sounded more interesting that watching Phil blink.

He was about to leave the house when someone stopped him. Someone who looked very angry at him and would possibly not let him go to Gus'.

"Shawn, did you already fed Phil?"

"Uh… yeah!" Shawn already knew he was busted.

His suspicions were confirmed when his dad looked over at Phil and glared at him.

"Shawn! What did you put in Phil's home?!"

"Food! But he's not eating. I think we got a damaged Phil."

Dad turned to him. "Shawn, there's nothing wrong with Phil. You're just not giving him the right food! Didn't you ask for turtle food?"

"No, I was going to give him stuff from the house…" Shawn mumbled low enough so his father wouldn't hear.

"Well, he's obviously not eating what you're giving him so find out what turtles eat before we have another grave in the backyard." Guess he did hear what he said. Stupid parent hearing.

**Another crossover! They're my favorites. Since I finished one of my stories, I can start another one! **


	2. In between the lines

_Present Day_

Shawn was riding his motorcycle with the rhythm of Prince while wind whipped his fabulous hair. It was late in the afternoon and he was craving yet another pineapple smoothie. But he was late so it would have to wait for tomorrow.

Pulling in the curb, he headed for his apartment. He barely wasted any time parking his motorcycle and raced all the way with his Taco Bell bag on his hand. It was probably smooched by now, but hey it was edible.

Reaching the door, he opened it and he had barely stepped in when he heard her sweet voice yell at him.

"DID YOU BRING THE TACOS?!"

He closed the door before any of his neighbors heard any more of her screaming. "Hello to you too and my day was horrible, thanks for asking."

He turned to find her, always checking the floor first even if that had happened only once. Thankfully, she wasn't there. Before he looked anywhere else, he felt her climb his sleeve all the way to his shoulder and up his head.

"You know what I meant; you can tell me everything about your day over at the couch. Meanwhile, hand over a taco, I'm starving!"

He got an upside view of her laying at the edge of the top of his head. She laughed when he crossed his eyes just to look at her and he smirked. She stopped laughing once she saw the look on his face and was about to turn back but he plucked her off him first.

"Well if you're really that hungry…" And not bothering to finish, he slipped her inside the bag. She yelped in surprise but then a whoop of excitement could be heard from the bag.

"I'm keeping your taco too!"

Laughing at the idea of Amy eating a whole taco by herself Shawn set the bag on the coffee table and turned the TV on. Going to the kitchen, he grabbed a Coke and one of the many bottle caps he kept and headed back to the living room. Jumping to the couch, he filled the bottle cap and left it beside the bag. Taking a big swing of his own bottle, he started changing channels before stopping at the one that had the Indiana Jones marathon scheduled for that day.

"So what were you saying about your day sucking before?" Amy asked while climbing out of the greasy bag and plopping on top of the beanie ball that worked out like her own beanie bag.

Shawn groaned before reaching out and grabbing the almost full taco out of the bag. "Oh yeah, I quitted today."

"WHAT!" She turned her full attention to him. "Shawn! We've talked about this! This is your third job in a month! You can't keep jumping from job to job!"

He munched on his taco and swallowed before answering her. "I know, I know but it became boring and lost that spark, you know what I mean?"

Amy looked at him unblinkingly. "No, I don't know what you mean."

Shawn gestured with his taco-free hand in what suggested was a possible explanation to his impulsive thinking. "I mean, I thought I would love working as a bartender but it just lacked the excitement I thought it had."

"Mhm." She said unbelieving.

"It's true! It turned out to be only mixing drinks and cleaning glasses!"

"It was _implied _in the job description that you only had to do that, not save the world or discover the cure for cancer."

"Yeah, but it just… it didn't seem right." He kept eating and instead of looking at Amy, he watched the TV.

"Shawn, nothing seems right for you! Three weeks ago you said you would absolutely love it and become the best bartender in town and now you're quitting again. Before that, you said candy making was your true calling in life and remember how long that lasted? _A week!_"

"There weren't any Oompa Loompas nor a chocolate river! I was fooled I tell you, fooled!"

Amy stood up and walked to the edge of the table to face him. "Shawn, I know you're looking for excitement and all but don't you think you could try and find something that works until you find it?"

He didn't respond and she was beginning to think he was ignoring her until he faced her and sighed. "Fine, I'll go looking for something tomorrow."

"Thanks." She nodded and walked back to her beanie seat but was airborne before she even got there. Dangling by her shirt in front of Shawn's face, Amy scowled at him. She secretly liked when he did that but Shawn didn't have to know that.

"In the meantime, I think there's a marathon someone wanted to watch since she heard of it a week ago."

"You were the one who insisted!" Her protests were cut off when he lowered her to his chest, getting more comfortable while he kept eating.

"Tomato, potato."

She kept the scowl for about a second before getting comfortable too. Lying down by her side she looked at the TV, feeling Shawn's heart and lungs working underneath her. She tried focusing on the movie but she knew it was useless 'cause she could already feel sleep calling her. It didn't help that the heart pumping beneath her sounded a lot like the drums of a slow song and that the air rushing in and out had a sort of melodic quality on it…

Shawn had to tuck Amy in her bed after he discovered her fast asleep on his chest. When he went back to the living room, the movie had been replaced by a news report of a case in Santa Barbara. After watching it for about five minutes, Shawn was at an impasse between heading over to the police station the next day and actually getting a job like he had promised Amy. _Just this last one. _

What was the harm of giving an anonymous tip for this teensy weensy case?

**So I should really get start on the Godzilla sized pile of homework I have but… Godzilla was a great inspiration and who can say no to him?**


	3. There's a lot of obscurity

**I'm so sorry for the wait! The good side is that it gave me time to get this right. Thanks for anyone still reading this story! **

**Disclaimer (since I kinda forgot before): I don't own Psych. **

The next day, Amy woke up to the pleasant Californian sun hitting her on the face. She felt as if she was slowly baking to her death. Avoiding her fate as borrower muffin, she finally got out of bed. Groggily, she tied her hair and looked over the window of her absolutely-not-a-dollhouse to find Shawn's bed empty. _At least he woke up somewhat early. _

Amy didn't bother changing out of her pajamas for breakfast. She was halfway through the stairs when she heard something in the kitchen. She froze until she found her pin lying innocently on the couch. Using it as her trustworthy weapon, she brandished it like a sword. Walking as quietly as she could, she peeked to see what lurked on her house when she heard (_or rather felt_) a red-hair bundle of energy greeting her.

"Good morning, Sweet cheeks!"

The pin was lowered as Amy let out a groan and stepped in.

"How can you manage so early in the morning?"

Pulling up a chair, Amy sat down as she surveyed her best friend. _She hasn't changed a lot. _Indeed she hadn't, since her hair was still long and Amy remained taller. From the charred remains of toast on the plastic table, Liz was trying yet again to cook. It baffled her that she managed to burn something considering there wasn't a working stove on the house, or matches.

"It's not even that early in the morning, Ames! It's already past eight and I could hear your snores all the way from here."

Amy blushed and grabbed something edible from the table to eat. "So, how you've been?"

"Great! There's nothing really interesting to tell actually. Wandering here and there... Wondering where my best friend was."

Liz looked pointedly at her and Amy had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"I can't even begin to tell how much it took me to finally find you! People said you were captured by a bean of all things!"

"Yeah about that… I wasn't _exactly _captured."

Her friend in turn lifted an eyebrow. "I can see that. If you ask me, it's kind of risky living in a dollhouse in the same bedroom as one of them humans. Not that I'm judging, but girl don't tempt luck anymore as it goes for us!"

Amy could see the worry showing on the other borrower as she spoke. _If only she knew how harmless Shawn was. _Except when he was playing Just Dance, which was simply hazardous to be around.

"Don't grow grey hairs 'cause of little old me Liz! I know what I'm doing." Amy in turn got some water out of her water deposit by the fridge. "Have you thought of settling nearby?"

"I don't know. I've been thinking on moving to a colony, you know? It would be just for a while, until I can find another way to travel."

"OH!" The sound surprised the freckled girl that she dropped what she was doing. "You can check out the one that's near the beach! I love going there all the time since you can find a couple of neat stuff over there."

Without waiting so much of an answer from the other one, the four-inch tall girl grabbed and dragged her friend all the way to Santa Barbara's beach.

Meanwhile, Shawn was trying to convince his own best friend to join him in detective work and solve a murder case, which was pretty cool.

"No." It was going to take a lot of convincing.

"But _Guuuuuuuus…"_

Gus barely looked away from his computer. "No Shawn. In case you haven't noticed, I'm working."

At that exact moment, a very flustered woman came in looking as if someone had just died.

"Mr. Burton! What are you still doing here?"

This made Gus take his eyes off from his work. "What?"

Shawn stepped between them. "Don't worry, Annie, he's trying to stay strong. It has hit him hard and I think all he needs now is the comfort of his friends and family." Shawn stood up. "Let's go Gus; we don't want to be late for Mr. Quakers' funeral."

The better hair styled man pushed Gus through the door as he passed by Annie. "He can be very sensible."

"Oh, I understand. I went through the same thing with Kitty."

"Your cat?"

"My canary."

Shawn looked at her weirdly before leaving with his very confused best friend.

The Californian Borrower Center, or CBC as it was fondly called, was always bursting with activity. Mothers went and came, carrying babies that beans would describe as microscopic. Couples would just hang out near the stalls that traded everything for anything and teenagers would be seen hanging out in groups. The ones that had ever been in malls compared the CBC with them. All in all, it was the one place where borrowers didn't need to hide from anyone and talk to each other. Unless, of course, if you were Liz.

It's not that Amy was a bad friend or anything. She was just too pushy for her own good. Liz was currently between what looked like a clothes' store and a restaurant. Personal space was something she craved, even if it was only for five minutes. She checked the streets for any sign of the wavy hair characteristic of her friend and finding none, she went inside.

"There you are!" Dammit.

Amy came to her from a rack borrowed entirely from a denim pants. "I've been looking forever for you! Can you believe there's everything made out of denim here? Even the underwear is made of the stuff!"

Liz cringed at the mere thought of wearing it but Amy was oblivious to her discomfort.

"I thought we were going to look for a place for me to move in?"

"Oh yeah!" She forgot everything denim related and focused on her friend. "I know just the place for you!"

She didn't wait for her to follow and instead she went into the busy streets. Liz sighed and went after her.

They turned and twisted left and right, passing by an Asian sector and a park, until they finally reached their destination. In front of them stood a big jewel box, blue and brown, that served as an apartment building. It was tastefully decorated with markings that were embedded at the sides and a hole had been drilled in the front, with a credit card acting as a door. To Liz, it looked like a nice place to live.

"Don't just stand there! Come have a look!" Without waiting for a reply, Amy entered.

Liz went inside, not sure about the residents of the building being all that welcoming to them.

Once inside, Liz felt comfortable and cozy. She was never one for large spaces and could even call herself slightly agoraphobic. It was a curse to many of their people, that and vertigo which she thankfully didn't have. Being coped in a small space like this building was a relief she often didn't have.

She followed her hyped friend to one of the rooms and found her talking to an older borrower.

"Joe, this is Liz, the friend I was talking about to you. She's looking for somewhere to stay in the zone and you mentioned that you just had a room cleared."

Joe shifted his weight and reclined on the lollipop stick that acted as his cane. "The couple that used to be there wanted to get out and live with the beans. I keep telling people that living with 'em is 'bout dangerous as being outside. Never know when your time comes." He grumbled in a gruff voice that made Liz wonder how many people he actually talked to.

"Aha, you're absolutely right Joe. So, can Liz have the room?"

He was still grumbling and only paused to actually answer to Amy. "I guess; if the girl knows how to keep quiet and not bother the residents."

"See, what did I tell you? I got you a good place and in the CBC nonetheless!" Before Liz could even utter a word, Amy shook hands with the still-grumbling Joe and sealed the deal. Just like that, Liz had a place to live. She only asked where her room was and after Joe pointed it out, they left the old man with the stamps he was organizing before.

On the way to Liz's brand new apartment, they passed by some of her neighbors. Many appeared not to be home, except for the one in the second level. They were going up the stairs when they ran into her.

"Oh sorry dear, I didn't see you there!" Said woman stood and helped Liz up. "I was in such a hurry that I wasn't seeing where my feet where taking me…! Are you new? I don't think I've seen you around here before."

The first impression she had of her unnamed neighbor was her beauty. She wasn't model like, with a perfect body and features, but rather attractive, friendly even. She gave off a strong sense of confidence.

"Yeah, she's new! We were just going to get her settled right now!"

"Then I'm not going to keep you any longer." She went past them to the stairs but turned before going down. "If you're looking for someone to help you move your things, don't doubt on asking my son, Isaac, for help. He's usually in our apartment, except when he's out borrowing. And if not, just come for a visit! I love having people over." With that she left.

"Nice woman." Liz said as they kept moving to the third level.

"Mmh? Oh, Lena! She's a warm piece of pie. She's the only one that can crack a smile out of Joe. And her apple crisp pie… Man, I could live out of that stuff." She abruptly stopped and Liz barely avoided ramming into her. "Here we are!"

As they pushed the Popsicle stick door, Liz finally got the first look of her new residence. It wasn't much, with a couple of makeshift furniture lying here and there and a few of windows drilled in the walls. But it was home now and she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I take it."

"Not like you have a choice, Liz but glad you like it!" Amy went past her to check out the bedroom. "You're going to need some sheets!" She called out.

Liz smiled and put down her borrowing bag to sort out her belongings. She was half-way through deciding whether to throw out a suspicious looking raisin when someone knocked at the door. Curious, she went to open it and found an awkward looking teen in the other side.

"Hey, my mom told me you just moved in and I came here to see if I could help you." He rubbed his neck nervously and Liz realized this must be Isaac, Lena's son. He distantly looked like his mother, with the same straight auburn hair and big eyes.

"Oh. I actually don't have much to move around here so I'm going to have to take you on that later." He looked ready to leave before Amy called out to them.

"Who is it?"

"It's Isaac!"

"What?"

"Isaac!"

She came carrying some boxes from another room. "Isaac! Why didn't you tell me he was here Liz? It doesn't matter. We're going to need some help taking out these boxes. I don't even know how people can live with crap lying around like this." She pushed them against him and he stumbled from the added weight. "How's your mother been?"

"She's alright."

"And her hardware store's still running?"

"Yeah, business has been steady for a while now." He said as he balanced the stack in his arms.

Amy finished bringing out boxes and left a pile of them by Isaac's feet. "That's the last of them. I didn't find anything worth keeping but go through them in case you think there's something useful for you."

He grabbed a couple and started carrying them away.

Before he went away, Liz felt saying something to him for his help. He barely knew her after all. "Thanks, Isaac."

He tried to reply back but instead he dropped some of his cargo. Hurriedly, he picked them up and left as quickly as he could.

"He seems nice."

"Yeah, he is. Anyway, we need to get you more stuff 'cause I'm not gonna let you live out of a borrowing bag as long as you're staying in Santa Barbara."

She left quickly but Liz took a moment to survey her new apartment. She hadn't had a place of her own in a long time now. It felt good.

"Are you coming Liz?"

"Yeah, just a sec!"

Maybe her life at Santa Barbara wouldn't be as bad.

**I just broke my personal record as this being the longest chapter I've written in any of my stories! Also, Kitty the canary is based on my grandmother. She had a mule named Dove, two cows named Seagull and Sardine, a horse named Sparrow and two dogs named Mole and Alligator. **


End file.
